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Artist Spotlight focuses on interesting artists, upcoming exhibitions, and articles about art and those who love it or create it.

Discover new ways to stretch your imagination, be introduced to new artists, their exhibits, and books to read about them. Expect to excite your mind. Comments are very welcome! -- Rosemary Carstens

Friday, May 15, 2009

Extinction: Artists Respond

Colorado artist DAWN SIEBEL will be a featured artist in this stunning exhibition taking place at the Denver Botanic Gardens May 23 to July 26, 2009. The opening reception will take place May 28, 5:30-8 p.m. (RSVP to exhibits@botanicgardens.org or 720-865-3636). Juried by Simon Zalkind, curator, and Ivar Zeile, this exhibition highlights 17 contemporary artists’ interpretation and visual commentary on the concepts and issues raised by the potential extinction of species.

DAWN SIEBEL’s Reef Madness (image above, oil on canvas, 48” x 96”) is a magnificently crafted statement about the effects of global warming and environmental destruction on teeming, vibrant reef life around the world. The artist loves stories, feels they are “wisdom holders, cultural glue . . . personal stories shape identity." She is well known for incorporating collaged photographs into iconographic cultural settings. Dawn says, “I am playing with history and finding it a pliable thing.” Using bold imagery and size to create an impressive statement and visual narrative, the chance to see this piece in person is worth a visit to the exhibition all by itself.

Denver Botanic Gardens is a lovely place to spend a day with or without your family. An amazing range of events take place over the spring, summer, and fall, and there is something for everyone—check out their website for listings. Or just wander the beautiful garden areas, sit in the shade and enjoy the scents and sounds of the grounds, have lunch, explore the gift shop.

Interesting how top botanical gardens, zoos, museums, etc. are stretching from their original areas of interest to related ones. The Denver Botanic Gardens has long been especially welcoming to artists, melding the beauty of the natural world w/ arts depicting or fitting into it.

Invitation to a FEAST!

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ARTIST ON THE EDGE: Annette Nancarrow

More information about the forthcoming biography of this unique American artist and fascinating woman who lived and worked in Mexico City for fifty years, a contemporary of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, will be posted here soon. Stay tuned!

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About Me

ABOUT THE EDITOR: Rosemary Carstens is a freelance writer, author, and publication consultant living in Longmont, Colorado. She is the author of DREAMRIDER: Roadmap to an Adventurous Life (Black Lightning Press 2003) and co-author of SUSTAINING THOUGHT: Thirty Years of Cookery at the School of American Research (2007). She is available for speaking engagements and workshops on the topics presented here and more. When not in the comma factory, she loves to ride the Rockies on her motorcycle, the Road Goddess. More information is available at
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com